I will be heading to Thailand in a few weeks. I'm going to be back and forth through Bangkok a number of times over several months, so the issues of time constraints for fittings, etc... are no big deal. I was looking to have a number of casual sport coats made as well as some linen shirts. While I can wait on the sport coats, I would like the shirts to be made up as quickly as possible. My questions are...

-Which tailors would you recommend for these items?

-Roughly what is the time frame?

-What should I expect to pay?

-How skilled are there? I remember going to Dung's in Saigon on the recommendation of this board and they seemed mystified by the concept of a 3-roll-2 and despite telling me they understood sent me straight 3-buttons.

I've had good experiences with narin couture, especially with stylistic requests like you mention. narin will sit down with you and draw out the style you describe and direct the tailor accordingly. He did a completely unstructured jacket for me that turned out very nice, not least of which because Thai tailors (including narin) tend to be really bad a padding (doing too much), and fusing. It was around $400, maybe 3 fittings. i recommend bringing your own cloth. It's not top level bespoke but its probably the best you can find in bkk, he's recommended by cnn too.

Thanks. I won't be able to bring my own tailoring. I hate when jackets are overpaded, if I see him should I bring this up from the start as a concern? Would he be a good person to go to for the shirts as well? Thanks.

Absolutely make it clear you want it 'completely' unstructured and uncanvassed at the start (except you do want lining inthe sleeves)... I asked him to do 'minimal' padding once and he still loafed a huge amount in there. you might wanna get the jacket made out of a thicker coating rather than lightweight suiting if youre going this route... it will give a nice neapolitan look at the end. If you pm me i can link to some pics of my jacket. His shirts aren't that great.... theyve shrunk a lot on me and kind've warped in places. But they are cheap. You can mail him the cloth you want to use too if you cant fit in your bags.

Another newcomer too idle to use 'Search' and anxious to be parted from his money in Thailand.

Frankly unless you are a skilled buyer from MTM houses the just don't bother. 'Hit and Miss' is too generous a description of what you find. If your mind set is "I would like the shirts to be made up as quickly as possible" which you make clear, then you will simply get shafted.

Like Svenn, I've had several positive experiences with Narin Couture. I've had several suits and shirts done with him. You need at least a week there for him to slot in the 3 fittings or so for suits. Shirts are easy, once you get one done he'll be able to get the rest done based on the first.

Shirt wise he's got a pretty good selection. I prefer herringbones, ginghams, twills, etc and he's got enough of those. Average cost has been $65 each and sure beats the shirts that I buy stateside. My problem is that at I have a 17" neck and a 36" waist, and I prefer my shirts a tad fitted. Shirts are usually more generous around the waist at 17". Fortunately I don't seem to have the same issues as Sven when to comes to his shirts. I'll be back again in a month or so to order more.

As for suits, he's also done half lined ones in a linen fabric I provided and I'm pretty satisfied with it.

Like Svenn, I've had several positive experiences with Narin Couture. I've had several suits and shirts done with him. You need at least a week there for him to slot in the 3 fittings or so for suits. Shirts are easy, once you get one done he'll be able to get the rest done based on the first.
Shirt wise he's got a pretty good selection. I prefer herringbones, ginghams, twills, etc and he's got enough of those. Average cost has been $65 each and sure beats the shirts that I buy stateside. My problem is that at I have a 17" neck and a 36" waist, and I prefer my shirts a tad fitted. Shirts are usually more generous around the waist at 17". Fortunately I don't seem to have the same issues as Sven when to comes to his shirts. I'll be back again in a month or so to order more.
As for suits, he's also done half lined ones in a linen fabric I provided and I'm pretty satisfied with it.
Helm

Thanks, any other suggestions on things you have to be overly firm about (like the no padding at all)?

I'm a local here in Bangkok. Yes, the house style is heavily padded for most tailors here. I would recommend that you bring a sample so they know exactly what you want. Try Charoenkrung Road, there are lots of good tailors where foreign expats usually have their suits made. Avoid Indians tailor. I have had good results with Praise Tailor -- also in Charoenkrung area (http://www.praisetailor.com/). Just have them made me a 3-roll-2 Florentine-style suit with round Italian shoulders. The fabric selection is good with fabrics from VBC and E. Zegna. Fused suit made from VBC fabric cost around 22,000 THB and take around 3-4 weeks with 3 fittings while canvassed VBC suits will be 30,000 THB and take longer to make. Otherwise, you can opt for 100% wool from lesser-known brand suit which would cost 18,000 THB. You can ask them to test the authenticity of the wool by using a lighter to burn a bit of the fabric. House-style shirts are british. Have couple of dress shirts made but never tried linen. Hope this help.

Another newcomer too idle to use 'Search' and anxious to be parted from his money in Thailand.
Frankly unless you are a skilled buyer from MTM houses the just don't bother. 'Hit and Miss' is too generous a description of what you find. If your mind set is "I would like the shirts to be made up as quickly as possible" which you make clear, then you will simply get shafted.

I agree with some qualification. The perception that you can come to Thailand, spend 3 days and leave with a Bespoke wardrobe is foolish. You can get some decent shirts made, however. If you want a suit copied you might do okay. If you can spend several weeks and have several fittings you'll probably do okay if you carefully select the fabric and have the luck to choose the right tailor. If you want everyday suits, are extremely specific as to detail, again, you might do alright. I've had success with Moon River on Sukhumvit by Asoke BTS. They're not just fabric sellers. The quality of tailoring is high and they pretty much do what you ask. Key is to know what you want, how you know the suit or jacket should look. Pictures will help. Ask for Vijay.

World Group in All Seasons Place. I have been using them for 10 years and They do as good a job as my suit from H Huntsman.

Ask for Danny. If you are over there over a few weeks they can do a full hand canvassed jacket or unstructured one. However why anyone would want unstructured and un-padded jacket is beyond my understanding.

World Group in All Seasons Place. I have been using them for 10 years and They do as good a job as my suit from H Huntsman.
Ask for Danny. If you are over there over a few weeks they can do a full hand canvassed jacket or unstructured one. However why anyone would want unstructured and un-padded jacket is beyond my understanding.

Hi Tropicalist, long time lurker, first time poster.

I'm heading back to Bangkok next month, and am intending to get some new suits done. I've previously had suits by Narin, which I was reasonably happy with, as well as several from tailors in Singapore.

I'm keen to check out World Group, and was wondering if they are ok with customers bringing their own fabric? I have recently been lucky enough to get my hands on some Fosters fabric, which I'm intending to use.

I'm happy to purchase some shirts from them as well, if it sweetens the deal.